State Senator Jonathan A. Harris
January 3, 2007
Harris Disappointed With Lack of Response to Substantive Questions About Charter Oak Health Insurance Plan
One month after responses are promised, RFP is issued; questions linger
State Sen. Jonathan A. Harris (D-West Hartford), the co-chairman of the Human Services Committee, said today that he is very disappointed with the lack of response by the state Department of Social Services (DSS) to substantive questions that he and other legislators put to the department over a month ago regarding Gov. M. Jodi Rell's proposed Charter Oak Health Insurance Plan (COHIP).
DSS and Gov. Rell released the COHIP request for proposal (RFP) this afternoon on the DSS Web site without ever having responded to the legislature's concerns.
"I'm disappointed that the RFP went out today without hearing back from DSS regarding concerns that we had--and information that they committed to provide to us--back on December 5," Sen. Harris said. "We all have the same goal of providing affordable, meaningful health care to the uninsured. The legislature gave the governor the power to put this plan forward. But this is not a one-way street; there has to be discussion and cooperation. We need to know, bottom line, if COHIP is financially sustainable. And so far we've heard nothing."
A December 20 letter (attached) asked DSS Commissioner Michael Starkowski to answer several questions about Gov. Rell's long-delayed Charter Oak plan, including:
- Include coverage for behavioral health.
- Include programs that focus on prevention, such as wellness, disease and pain management, and the chronically ill.
- Require a minimum medical-loss ratio.
- Provide both an internal and an external appeal process.
- Reduce the "crowd-out" provision from six months to two months.
- Adequately reimburse health care providers.
- Address the actuarial sustainability and financial viability of the plan in advance of sending out the RFP.
December 20, 2007
Commissioner Michael Starkowski
Department of Social Services
25 Sigourney Street
Hartford, CT 06106-5041
Dear Commissioner Starkowski,
The Chairs and Members of our Committees appreciated very much the information you provided at the forum on the new Charter Oak Health Insurance Plan (COHIP) earlier this month. We listened carefully to both your testimony and that of the consumers and advocates regarding the Request for Proposal (RFP) that is to be issued by your office shortly.
We believe the following recommendations, culled from the hearing, provide the appropriate public input for your consideration when developing the RFP, and would hope that you consider these recommendations.
The following recommendations constitute a consensus of opinion from the variety of statements that we heard. We recognize that there are overlapping and sometimes conflicting interests at stake, and tried to take that into consideration when making our recommendations. The following is the list of the major concerns that we feel should be addressed:
- Apply the appropriate insurance mandates and consumer protections contained in the state insurance laws to COHIP. You have stated in your testimony that this will be part of the plan.
- Increase the caps on prescription drugs and durable medical equipment. Advocates and consumers were particularly concerned that a COHIP enrollee would become ineligible for other prescription drug assistance programs.
- Based on our state's policy of parity for behavioral health treatment, we feel that you should include coverage for behavioral health.
- Include programs that focus on prevention, such as wellness, disease and pain management, and the chronically ill.
- Require a minimum medical loss ratio.
- Provide both an internal and an external appeal process. It is somewhat unclear as to whether either or both of these are contemplated in the current version of the plan.
Other issues we would like to bring to your attention include the following:
- Reduce the "crowd-out" provision from six months to two months. There was concern expressed that this limitation might reduce the available pool of applicants as well as reduce meaningful access.
- Adequately reimburse health care providers.
In addition, from your testimony we understand that COHIP contractors will be required to comply with the Freedom of Information Act.
One large question raised at the hearing was the actuarial sustainability and financial viability of the plan. Please provide information that addresses this issue, along with the other information that you agreed to give us. Please do so in advance of sending out the RFP so that the public and the General Assembly can be fully informed about the exact provisions and costs of the plan.
Finally, we want to ensure that there will not be siphoning of funds from HUSKY to COHIP.
We appreciate your desire to proceed with the planning phase of COHIP and want to continue our discussions so that the RFP can be fully developed with the public input that is vital to its success. To this end, please provide the promised information as soon as possible.
Thank you for you time and effort on this important matter.
Sincerely,
Senator Toni Harp, Co-chair, Appropriations Committee
Representative Denise Merrill, Co-chair, Appropriations Committee
Senator Jonathan Harris, Co-chair, Human Services Committee
Representative Peter Villano, Co-chair, Human Services Committee
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